Food for the hungry For many Maine kids, the end of the academic year means an end to regular meals.

Street scene Walking down Congress Street with John Dana and Jesse Flynn on a Friday afternoon, I am struck by how many people's names they know.

Granola with a conscience With all those honey-flavored oats and nuts, granola is tempting enough for Rhode Island's neo-hippie set. But add a scoop of goodwill to the mix and you invite a veritable stampede of Birkenstocks.

Food for the hungry For many Maine kids, the end of the academic year means an end to regular meals.

Street scene Walking down Congress Street with John Dana and Jesse Flynn on a Friday afternoon, I am struck by how many people's names they know.

Granola with a conscience With all those honey-flavored oats and nuts, granola is tempting enough for Rhode Island's neo-hippie set. But add a scoop of goodwill to the mix and you invite a veritable stampede of Birkenstocks.

Agents of change The highly publicized turmoil at Central Falls High School is but the leading edge of a major crisis in urban education in this state.

The Big Hurt: Smash Mouth chicken out In the end, some eggs were eaten and a bunch of money was raised to help sick kids, which is great. But did Steve Harwell truly meet the egg challenge? No!

The new Netroots The netroots story — lefty bloggers storming the barricades — can seem, well, so 2006. Little wonder, then, that this year's Netroots Nation conference in Providence didn't receive much national press.

Bright lights, no city I never cared about Africa. I never wanted to join the Peace Corps, raft the Zambezi, haggle in Fez or climb Kilimanjaro.